As Sylvia Hatchell continues to reach coaching milestones, she insists she’s not done.

The Hunter Huss graduate and University of North Carolina women’s head coach still has five and a half years left on her contract. She landed the No. 1 recruiting class in the country for 2013, including four Top 20 players. Just as important, at 60, she’s still got the same drive and hunger when she started her head coaching career at Francis Marion as a 23-year-old in 1975.

“People ask me, ‘When are you going to retire?’ I’ve still got as much passion as I’ve ever had,” Hatchell said in a phone interview on Friday. “I want to win some more championships. I’m not finished yet.

“I’m not burned out. I have balance in life. My foundation comes from my faith and family. People tell me, ‘You ain’t changed a bit.’ I think that’s a great compliment.”

After picking up win No. 900 on Thursday at Boston College, Hatchell’s next milestone could come as early as Sunday at Georgia Tech. Her 901st victory will mean she will be all alone in second place on the all-time wins list in women’s college basketball. Then, she will trail only Tennessee legend – and her good friend – Pat Summitt, who retired with 1,098 victories. Rutgers coach Vivian Stringer, who is 64, is right behind Hatchell with 898 wins.

For the Gastonia native, the records will sort themselves out in the long run. Like all successful coaches, her focus remains on getting her team ready for their next opponent.

“It’s nice to get the accomplishments, but we’re working hard to get ready for Georgia Tech,” Hatchell said. “You don’t have a long time to celebrate.”

The Lady Tar Heels (20-3, 9-2) are ranked 16th in the AP poll and are third in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings behind No. 5 Duke and No. 7 Maryland. After an injury-riddled 2011-12, Hatchell likes where her team sits headed into the final seven games of the regular season.

“We want to finish as one of the top teams in the conference,” she said. “We’ve got five wins over Top 25 teams, and I think we can make a strong run in the NCAA (tournament). The biggest thing is to stay healthy. We were down about six players last year.”

Tip-off Sunday in Atlanta is at 11:30 a.m. The game will be televised on ESPNU.

Quick route to coaching

With no opportunity for a scholarship, Hatchell – a left-hander who played on the wing - tried out and made the basketball team at Carson-Newman College in 1971.

Also a volleyball player, she went on to graduate cum laude from Carson-Newman.

It didn’t take her long to find her true calling in the coaching ranks. While enrolled at graduate school at the University of Tennessee, Pat Summitt – also in her first year - asked Hatchell to coach the junior varsity women’s team.

Page 2 of 3 - “She (Summitt) played at UT-Martin. She was a great player,” Hatchell said. “While I was at grad school at Tennessee, we had all of our classes together and became best friends. We’ve been great friends ever since. Of course, we’ve competed against each other, but we’ve also spent lot of time together at the beach or somebody’s house.”

She took over at Francis Marion in Florence, S.C., in 1975 and guided the Lady Patriots to a 272-80 record, highlighted by the 1982 AIAW national title and the 1986 NAIA national title.

Only 23 in her first year, she coached at least one player that was her elder.

“I came along at a good time. Title IX had just started and scholarships were just starting,” Hatchell said. “It was my first job. I did everything. I taught six classes, I was the intramural director and I was the cheerleading sponsor. I loved it.”

She took over the North Carolina job in 1986. Since then, the Gastonia native has eight ACC tournament titles and four conference regular season crowns. Behind Shelby native and current Elon head coach Charlotte Smith, the Lady Tar Heels won the national title in 1994. Hatchell is a three-time ACC coach of the year and has twice been named national coach of the year.

Adding to her decorated career, Hatchell assisted Kay Yow as the U.S. team won gold at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea.

The balance

Hatchell, like a lot of Carolinians, enjoys the best of both worlds. Meaning, the mountains and the coast.

She and her husband Sammy, the associate women’s head coach at Shaw University in Raleigh, own a cabin and 204 acres near Black Mountain.

They also have a place at Ocean Drive in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Also, like a lot of baby boomers from this region, the Hatchells are into “Shag” dancing.

“We don’t compete or anything, but it’s great exercise and great people,” she said.

She helps organize a Hunter Huss beach reunion every summer that usually draws around 300 alumni.

“We’ve already booked the Band of Oz,” Hatchell said.

Roots remembered

Growing up in the pre-Title IX era, Hatchell didn’t get a chance to play high school basketball at Hunter Huss, but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t active. During study halls, she played against the guys, honing her skills playing pick-up games. It’s also where she started to establish the competitiveness that still drives her today.

Rick Davis, Hatchell’s friend since childhood and a longtime teacher and coach at Bessemer City High School, remembers her athleticism all too well.

“We were playing softball and she broke my finger with a line drive at third base,” Davis said. “There are a lot of guys from Gaston County that have been abused on the court by Sylvia.

Page 3 of 3 - “She was always competitive and had self-assurance. She even beat everybody in horseshoes.”

Davis and his wife, Patsy, are still in constant touch with Hatchell. No surprise, Hatchell remains connected with a number of her friends from Gaston County. Many come up for North Carolina home games and some even stay with Hatchell while they are in Chapel Hill.

“It seems like every game there is someone from Gastonia up here. They fill my house up,” Hatchell said. “I just tell them to ‘Bring a sleeping bag.’”

Davis adds: “She has always taken time for other people, even people she doesn’t know. Even after winning the national coach of the year, she’s the type of person that if you went up to see her, even with all of the accolades, she’ll have a hot dog with you and laugh and talk.

“She still remembers the names of people we grew up with. She doesn’t forget her past.”

A simple slogan sums up Hatchell’s approach: Givers gain.

“I believe that,” she said. “I learned that at Unity Baptist Church on Myrtle School Road. My grandfather founded that church. That’s my foundation and how I handle things. You always go back to your roots and foundation, and that’s Gaston County.”